This section introduces aspects that may be helpful in facilitating a better understanding of the invention. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art. Fire hoses are traditionally comprised of multiple sections having hose couplings at opposite ends. The hose couplings are made of metal and cannot be compressed in the same manner as the hose. It is well known in the firefighting field that long portions of flexible fire hose are difficult to recover after being utilized in a fire fighting situation. Long flexible fire hoses are notoriously difficult to retrieve and dewater after use due to the length, weight and large couplings used in connecting multiple sections of the hose. In typical day-to-day practice, several firefighters are necessary to recover and replace the fire hose, depending on the weight and length of the hose. A team of firefighters often must roll or fold up the flexible hose for storage on the fire engine. Such a burdensome practice may take many hours, and sometimes days, to complete.
A variety of automated or semi-automated hose retrieval and dewatering devices and systems have been employed, but all of these suffer from inherent disadvantages. Some of these disadvantages include the inability to recover larger quantities of hose without expending substantial manpower time and effort and the inability to compactly recover hoses fitted with hose couplings, especially large diameter hose couplings. Some of the prior art devices also require a user to disassemble the recovery apparatus to remove the wound hose after it is collected. Other devices collect the hose in a confined area within the recovery apparatus, making it difficult to access. Other prior art solutions utilize a complex and unreliable pulley and sensing system and/or a complex mechanical belting mechanism. Most of the prior art solutions also do not adequately address the dangers associated with couplings becoming stuck in the recovery apparatus and associated with operational belts being flung off the apparatus and/or debris being thrown off the hose by the apparatus. The prior art solutions also lack adjustability and the ability to customize to a given project and are frequently expensive to purchase and maintain.
Fire hoses are large, reinforced hoses that are capable of carrying and dispensing large amounts of water. Traditional fire hoses have a 3 IN (inch) diameter and are made of several layers of material, which make the hoses very durable. Unfortunately the layers of material also make fire hoses quite heavy. A new generation of fire hoses, called Large Diameter Hoses (LDH), are currently being deployed in firehouses throughout the United States. LDH hoses have a 5 IN (inch) diameter, which allows more water to be delivered to a fire. The new hoses are good for dispensing greater quantities of water however, they are also proportionately heavier than the traditional 3 IN (inch) diameter hoses.
When a fire has been put out and the firemen are ready to clean up and go back to the station, some of the tasks required of the firemen include rolling up the fire hoses and storing them back on the fire engine. However, before the hoses can be rolled up, the water that is left inside of the hoses must be removed. The traditional method of removing the water is for one or more firemen to lift one end of the hose, at least shoulder height, and then walk, while moving their hands hand over hand, down the length of the hose. This forces the water out of the opposite end of the hose. It also however, requires the firemen to lift the weight of the fire hose and the weight of the water remaining in the hose. While this traditional water removal method works, it is an awful lot to require of tired firemen that just got done fighting a fire.
Rollers are well-known in the field of roller paths systems and conveyer belts. A traditional roller includes an axle and an outer cylinder with multiple ball bearings held in place between the axle and the outer cylinder that allow the cylinder to rotate around the axle. In a typically roller path system, tens or even hundreds of rollers are placed parallel to each other with each roller being held by a long two-sided frame that extends from point A to point B. Boxes and cartons are efficiently moved, from point A to point B, by placing them on the roller path and pushing them along the rows of rollers. Non-motorized roller path systems usually have the destination end at a lower height than the loading end so movement of the boxes is assisted by gravity.
There is a need in the art for an easy to use, safe, adjustable, aesthetically pleasing, durable and relatively inexpensive hose dewatering device and system that allows fire hoses, including larger diameter hoses having larger couplings, to be recovered with minimal human intervention.